COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – The Macalester College women's basketball team opened the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic with a 72-42 victory over Johnson & Wales University (Denver) Friday afternoon at Colorado College. The win is the first of the season for the Scots (1-5), while the Wildcats fall to 0-4.

A pair of threes from junior guard Justine Barraza (Burbank, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) helped Macalester open the game with an 8-0 run. After JWU cut the deficit to two, the Scots closed the quarter with an 11-6 run to lead 19-12 after one quarter. Sophomore guard Celine Sabbagh (Eau Claire, Wis./Regis) tallied eight points in the second quarter to help Macalester extend the lead to as many as 15 before taking a 36-26 advantage into the halftime break.

After the Wildcats started the second half with a three-pointer by Brianna Bailey, the Scots used a 15-2 spree to take control of the game, 51-31 with 4:13 left in the third quarter. Senior guard Holly Hull (Overland Park, Kan./Blue Valley Northwest) scored seven points in the run, with first year guard Solana Cushing (Minneapolis, Minn./South) hitting a three. With the score 58-40 Macalester to start the fourth quarter, the Scots held the Wildcats to just two points over the final 10 minutes in a 14-2 run to wrap up the victory. Nine of Macalester's points in the fourth were scored by first year forward Emma LaFrenz (Edina, Minn./Edina).

The Scots shot a season-best 48.1 percent from the floor, including 8-of-19 from three-point range, while holding JWU to 26.7 percent. Macalester also held a 48-24 rebounding advantage.

Hull led the Scots with 15 points, seven rebounds and two assists, while LaFrenz had career highs of 13 points and eight rebounds. Cushing hit four three-pointers en route to a career-best 12 points and three assists. Barraza ended up with 10 points and six assists, with junior guard Katie Sowerby (Mill Valley, Calif./Tamalpais) adding six points, four assists and a team-best 11 rebounds. Bailey led the Wildcats with 14 points.

Macalester wraps up play at the Rocky Mountain Thanksgiving Classic with a game against the host Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 30. The game starts at 4:00 p.m. Central in Reid Gymnasium.